Meiji Shrine hosts mural exhibition from 17 October
Published on 10/21/2026 at 12:23 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSExhibition and historical setting
- The Meiji Jingu Museum presents the middle section from 17 October 2026 to 8 November 2026.
- Six original murals from the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery are being shown during the 2026 exhibition.
- The outer garden was completed in 1926, linking the display to a century of site history.
- Tokyo is the setting for the shrine, museum and exhibition programme.
Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu) in Tokyo is hosting the middle section of The Giant Murals of the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery exhibition from 17 October to 8 November 2026. The programme is organised by Meiji Shrine at its museum in the shrine precinct.
The display links a current museum visit with the centenary of the shrine complex outer garden, completed in 1926.
Meiji Shrine Museum presents its middle exhibition period
The exhibition examines artists who reached the 150th anniversary of their births around 2026. It forms the second of three periods in a programme connected with the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery in the outer garden.
Six original murals from the gallery are being shown throughout the full exhibition, changing two at a time. The middle period includes Tokugawa Residence Visit by Kimura Buzan and Iwakura Residence Visit by Kita Renzo, alongside works loaned from museums in Japan. The official exhibition programme also lists a lecture on 29 October and a workshop connected with Kimura Buzan on 7 November.
The mural display connects Tokyo shrine history with art
The exhibition is being held at Meiji Shrine Museum while the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery is closed for conservation work. The museum therefore brings selected mural material into the inner precinct rather than asking visitors to view it in the gallery building.
The gallery contains 80 murals depicting the achievements of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. The outer garden reached completion in 1926, six years after the shrine was established in 1920. This relationship gives the exhibition a precise connection with the place: visitors see art made for the wider shrine setting during the year that the outer garden reaches its centenary.
The wider site was planned as a forested Shinto sanctuary in Tokyo. Construction began in 1915 under architect Ito Chuta, and the original buildings were destroyed during the Second World War before the present structures were completed in 1958. A history of the shrine forest records how trees were donated from across Japan and planted by volunteers.
Visiting Meiji Shrine: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The exhibition period runs from 17 October to 8 November 2026 at Meiji Shrine Museum in Tokyo.
- The museum presentation includes six original murals from the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery, with two exchanged between exhibition periods.
- The shrine address is 1-1 Yoyogi Kamizono-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-8557, Japan. The site is served by the Harajuku area and Sangubashi access points.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
Searching for Meiji Shrine on social platforms
These links open searches for Meiji Shrine on each platform.
Frequently asked questions about Meiji Shrine
When does the mural exhibition take place at Meiji Shrine?
The middle exhibition period runs from 17 October to 8 November 2026 at Meiji Shrine Museum in Tokyo.
What is Meiji Shrine?
Meiji Shrine is a Shinto sanctuary in Tokyo established in 1920 and rebuilt in its present form in 1958.
Where is Meiji Shrine and how do you get there?
It is at 1-1 Yoyogi Kamizono-cho in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, with access through the Harajuku and Sangubashi areas.
